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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. march — music
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. march — the month
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — low music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. march — the month
  18. lean — thin
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stock — shares
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. lean — to bend
  23. stock — goods
  24. tear — to rip

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com